Thursday, September 4, 2008

Are you, experienced?

Ahem. . . can we get real for a minute. . . just for a quick minute. . . for the sake of sanity and all that is logical and rational?The latest rhetoric from the right is to compare Mrs. Palin's qualifications to those of Barack Obama. They claim that being mayor a tiny Alaskan town that employs a professional administrator and being governor of a state with a population of under 700,000 for little more than a year makes her more qualified than Barack Obama.Let's put this thing into a clear form that even the most ADD of us can understand.

Education:Barack Obama - Columbia University BA, political science/international relations. Harvard Law School

Sarah Palin - North Idaho Community College BS, communications. My question is: how can you get a BS from a community college and how can you get a BS in communications? Wouldn't that be a BA?

Work Experience:

Barack - From 1983 -1988 Mr. Obama works as a low paid community organizer in New York City and Chicago. After law school he was on the faculty of University of Chicago Law School for 12 years teaching Constitutional Law. While there he also worked as a COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. The list of positions he held within various community organization and board of director positions on various national foundations is too large to include here. Let's just say he's been a busy man doing all sorts of things to selflessly serve his fellow human beings. If you look into his background you can not disagree with that assessment.97-04 served as a state legislator. His list of accomplishments and legislation authored and passed is WAY to big for this post. From 04-present he is a United States Senator. His short senate career is punctuated by numerous legislative victories.

Sarah - After community college she worked as a sportscaster for an Ankorage TV station. Then she began popping out babies. This of course is a VERY noble occupation, but in no way prepares you for the presidency of the United States. Let's see. . . she helped her hubby on his fishing boat.Between 1992 and 2002 she served on the city council of her small town and as mayor of the same small town. Noble endeavors, but not a training ground for the presidency of the United States.In 06 she was elected to be governor of Alaska. Again, a noble endeavor, but having done it for a year, not exactly the kind of experience required to lead the free world.

International Travel. . . or otherwise.

Barack - As an adult he spent weeks traveling through Europe and over a month in Kenya exploring his roots. As a senator he's made numerous trips abroad including Russia and Eastern Europe. As a child he lived in Indonesia where his mother worked and he grew up in Hawaii . . oh, wait, that's not a foreign country.

Sarah - She went to college in Idaho.

But all kidding aside, doesn't this illustrate the absurdity of challenging Barack Obama's experience and rediness to be President of the United States by trying to claim that Sarah Palin is somehow more experienced and better qualified?

We're talking about a woman who, when asked whether "under god" should be removed from the Pledge of Alliegence declared that 'if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me.' The PoA was written in the late 1800s and not widely used until the 1950s.This is a woman who wants creationism taught in science classrooms.Do we really need another administration marked by a distinct lack of human curiosity? For me, the hallmark of intellect is an instinct to learn. . . an instinct to explore and an instinct to be curious about the world. Palin's resume reveals something much less than that.

Come on people, let's get real. Let's just call this what it is. This woman is not too bright and is horribly lacking in the experience required to be president.Will the right compare MoronMonkeyBoy Bush the Chimp's experience to hers and say "see, she has as much as he had going in?" I hope they do. I really, really hope they do.

5 comments:

"Have you ever been experienced?Well, I have."All right, enough of quoting Jimi.Sarah Palin's "executive experience" is a joke. The newsies at CNN should be laughing out loud every time a GOP mouthpiece tries to describe the PTA presidency and Wasilla mayorship as executive experience. I was a reporter in a couple of towns of fewer than 10,000 people, and I can tell you their mayors aren't seriously "executives" - they're chairs or presidents of town council, and the real executive work is done by town staff.By the way, PTA work seems a lot like community organizing to me. But maybe that's just me.And honestly, being "commander" of the Alaska National Guard? These GOP fartcatchers *do* realize the governor isn't involved hands-on in the state NG on a day-to-day basis, don't they?But yeah, the ambitious Ms. Palin kissed enough Alaska GOP ass and used her cozy relationship with sleazy Senator Stevens (from whom she has more or less disassociated herself, since he's in a scandal) well enough to get elected governor. So she can legitimately call herself an "executive" - a real executive - for the first time in her life. For the last 20 months. And it took her less time than that to get in a scandal of her own. (Well, at least one, maybe more.)Oh my Flying Spaghetti Monster, I don't know what hope you people in the U.S. have if she's a heartbeat away from the presidency. And the rest of the world will be affected by U.S. voters' November decision. Please remember that.

I'd like to point out that the POA, initially, did not include the words, "Under God." Those words were added during the Cold War to distinguish us Lord fearin', free economy supportin' folks from those godless Commies in the Soviet Union.

Who is the SagaciousHillbilly?

Wow, all this happened before I became a paramedic. . .
I been to college and it aint hurt me none. I even got me a degree or two. I've been a scientist, a cook, a carpenter a farmer an environmental activist and had a couple other useless pursuits. My wife calls me a "jack of all trades and master of none." [Correction: She now says I am a "starter of much and finisher of nothing"] Yes, I have a wife, but she doesn't bother me much and I don't bother her much. We get along just fine. . . an she aint my sister or cousin!
I don't complain much or tolerate whiners.
My goal in life: Have fun. Hope you do the same.